


Jumping on the Bandwagon

by Fire_Bear



Series: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas [3]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: (That's probably my fault), Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Christmas, Christmas Jumpers, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-07 04:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8784022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Arthur's working more now that it's Christmas so he's present in the shop when a man comes in to buy awful Christmas jumpers. A new jumper every day. 
Just why is he always coming back?





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the prompt:  
> Character A loses a bet and has to wear a different ugly Christmas sweater every day till Christmas. Character B works at a clothes store.

Arthur was glad that he worked in a small clothes shop. It meant that, though it did get busier at Christmas, the prices and unknown name put people off shopping there for gifts and the like. Which meant that, even though he worked at the weekend, he wasn't completely run off his feet.

The shop itself was called Threads. Elizaveta – the manager – claimed the owner – her mother – had thought it would make it sound 'cool' to the 'kids'. It hadn't really worked, not with the old-fashioned store front. In fact, Arthur had originally only applied for a job because he had thought it sold sewing and knitting equipment. He hadn't objected, however, when he'd been given the job and now had several good friends.

Of course, with Christmas coming up, he'd accepted more hours, scheduling them around his remaining lectures, seminars and exams. So, when the first of December came upon them, he ended up in the shop after lunch with Gilbert, the other main weekend cashier. Gilbert was bored despite Elizaveta's efforts to force him to do actual work. As it was, Arthur was doing most of the tidying and small amount of stocking. Which was why he was on the shop floor when a customer turned up.

“Excuse me,” said a voice at Arthur's elbow as he sorted the men's jeans into size order. Startled, he jerked, almost dislodged some of the shirts above him and stepped backwards to turn to whoever had spoken. It turned out to be a man, a tad taller than Arthur himself. His blond hair was windswept with one particular strand sticking upright. Glasses failed to conceal sky blue eyes which conveyed his happiness if anyone could doubt it with his large smile. He was bundled up but his cheeks were red, probably from the chill outside. As Arthur turned, he started to pull off gloves, obviously feeling the heat from the multitude of heaters blasting away. “D'ya work here?” the man asked and Arthur recognised the American accent.

“Yes,” Arthur said, plastering on his 'Please The Customers' smile. “May I help you?”

“Yeah. D'ya have any Christmas jumpers?”

Arthur glanced in the direction of the Christmas stock which had been there since the middle of November. Clearly this man had never been in before nor had he used his eyes for there was a large sign above them. “Yes, we do,” he told the customer. “If you'll just follow me.” And he led the customer to where the men's Christmas jumpers were. “This is all we have at the moment but we have a fast turnover and we get more in every couple of days.”

“So you'll have different ones tomorrow?” the man asked, casting his eyes over the jumpers.

“I believe so. I can ask the manager if you like. Was there one in particular that you were looking for?”

“No, not really.” He reached out and plucked a dark blue jumper from the rail. It happened to be the one with the gigantic reindeer on it. The reindeer had a Santa hat and, for some reason, sunglasses. Turning it, the man held it up to himself. “What d'ya think? Does it suit me?”

Blinking, Arthur looked him up and down. He couldn't really tell whether it would suit the man or not, probably because the man looked big. It was probably his coat and whatever else he was wearing under it but, either way, it didn't help Arthur confirm or deny anything. So he merely said, “Yes, I think so. Would you like to buy it?”

“Sure! You gonna serve me?”

Glancing towards the tills, he saw that there was a small queue. Gilbert seemed to be coping at the moment but it wouldn't hurt the shop's reputation if he started serving customers as well. “If you just join the end of the queue, you can either be served by myself or my colleague.”

“Okay!” And the man bounded off.

Shaking his head at his enthusiasm to wait in a queue, Arthur strode over to his till and logged on. Making sure he was, at the very least, smiling politely, he began to serve customers, making small talk and trying to telepathically tell them to hurry up. Finally, there was no-one else left to serve bar the Christmas Jumper Man. He stepped forward, grinned at Arthur and handed it over.

“Hi,” he said. His eyes dropped to Arthur's chest before flicking back up as Arthur reached out for the jumper. “Arthur,” he said, as if he was testing it on his tongue.

Arthur's smile twitched, annoyed at the familiarity of the customer. However, he held his temper in check and merely smiled. “Yes,” he said and rattled through the succession of questions he was in the habit of asking: bag? Hanger? Anything else?

At that last question, the Christmas Jumper Man perked up. “Well...” he said, grin widening. Then Gilbert shifted beside Arthur and the man glanced at him. He paused then shrugged a shoulder, lowering his gaze. “Nah. I'm good.”

So Arthur finished the sale and let the man go. 'Chris' (as Arthur had dubbed him in the short time he had known him) gave Arthur one last smile, a thanks and a cheery wave and then he was gone. Relieved that it had gotten quiet again, Arthur let out a breath and let himself relax for a second.

“Mate,” said Gilbert, suddenly close. “You realise that guy was totally into you, right?”

“What _are_ you talking about?” Arthur asked, rolling his eyes.

“Pretty sure he was staring at your ass.”

Arthur snorted. “Yeah, right.” And he went back to tidying the shop.

* * *

The next day, Arthur was the one sitting at the tills. Feliciano liked to help out as best he could which basically meant that he would insist on doing all the cleaning and tidying. If Arthur emerged from behind the tills when Feliciano was working, he'd never get a moment's peace. So he was taking the opportunity of the surprisingly slow afternoon to catch up on some reading material.

That was why he didn't hear 'Chris' come in or speak to Feliciano and was unaware of his presence until he was standing over Arthur, waiting to pay.

Startled, Arthur sat up straight and set his book aside. “Y- Oh. Sorry. Hello,” said Arthur quickly, flustered. He stood and stepped closer to the till. “I didn't expect to see you in again so soon.” He reached for the customer's item and was surprised to see that it was another Christmas jumper, this one green with a large robin.

“Didja miss me?” the man said, grinning widely.

Raising an eyebrow, Arthur said, “Would you like a bag?”

Deflating, the man answered Arthur's questions, stammering a little. Then, while Arthur was neatly folding the jumper to put into the bag, he said, “You've got some nice Christmas jumpers in here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Arthur replied, faking enthusiasm. “Some of them are quite amusing as well.”

“Haha, yeah. I'm going for calmer ones before I go into the crazy ones.”

“Huh? That's £9.99, by the way.”

Pulling out his wallet, the man shrugged. “I lost a bet.”

“Um, what does that have to do with anything?” Arthur asked as he accepted a £20 note.

“Y'know, everything. I lost so I have to wear a different Christmas jumper every day. They're supposed to be ugly but all the ones in here aren't too bad.”

Pausing in the act of counting out change, Arthur glanced up at 'Chris' and then frowned at the bag. “Wouldn't it make more sense to buy a few at a time rather than one a day?” he asked, slowly going back to what he had been doing.

“Maybe. But then I don't get to- get to see all the new ones,” the man said, his grin faltering a little. Arthur could have sworn he looked a little red in the face but he shrugged it off and handed over his change.

“Well,” he said. “Have a nice day-”

“Alfred,” the man interjected. “My name's Alfred. Y'know, since I know yours and everything.”

“Right. Then, good afternoon, Alfred.”

“Uh huh. Yeah. Um. See ya.” And Alfred hurried out of the shop.

Once he had gone, Feliciano appeared at the till he was using for the day. “Arthur, Arthur!” he exclaimed, clearly excited. “I think that man really likes you! He was watching you reading before he chose anything.”

Arthur snorted. “I'm sure he wasn't, Feli. Why on Earth would he do that?”

* * *

When Saturday came around, Arthur was once again at the tills. He was serving a couple of customers while Lili tidied the store, what usually happened when Gilbert went on his lunch break. As he chuckled at what one of the customers was saying about her friend, the door opened. Glancing over, his eyebrows rose as he watched Alfred entering. Alfred glanced around as he let the door swing closed behind him and his eyes met Arthur's. For a moment, Alfred's eyes widened, as if he hadn't been expecting Arthur to see him come in. Then the small printer churned out a receipt and Arthur looked away, refocussing on his customer.

By the time he was finished with the small queue, Alfred was already being helped by Lili, once again amongst the Christmas jumpers. They began discussing which one Alfred should buy so, presuming he'd be a while, Arthur began to tidy up around the tills. Once he had everything in order, he straightened up and found Alfred waiting patiently on the other side of his counter, white jumper in hand.

“Oh, you're ready?” Arthur said, stepping closer to the till.

“Yeah. What d'ya think?” Alfred held it up against his chest to show off the imitation of a snowman, a huge orange flappy bit for the orange nose. Arthur couldn't help wrinkling his nose at it but, thankfully, Alfred laughed anyway. “Yeah, it's a bit much, isn't it?”

“Yes,” said Arthur. “But you still want it, right?”

“Sure.”

Arthur calmly scanned it through, folding it and putting it into a bag. A silence had descended between them and, whenever he glanced up at him, Arthur noticed that Alfred seemed to be trying to say something. After he had taken the money, though, Alfred managed to finally blurt something out.

“D'ya like snowmen?”

Blinking at him, Arthur slowly shrugged. “I... suppose so?”

“Uh huh...” Alfred mumbled. “Er... I gotta get going. See ya!” And he almost ran from the shop.

Once he had gone, Lili appeared, looking a little worried as she stared after the departed customer. “What happened?” she asked.

“I didn't do anything!” Arthur replied, defensively. “I mean... I don't _think_ I did?”

“Did he say anything?” Lili asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Huh? Uh. Just asked me if I liked snowmen.”

“Oh. I see,” said Lili, her bright smile returning. “I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure he'll be in again. After all, he seems to like you.” And, before Arthur could respond, she walked off to straighten the scarves.

* * *

Sunday came with another visit from Alfred. He wasn't alone this time and had brought his friend. Or, when Arthur took a closer look while he was putting sale stickers on some handbags which had been around far too long, it could have been his twin brother. At the very least, Arthur reasoned, he had to be a relative of some sort since they both looked so similar. They even both kept glancing nervously at Arthur and both of them wore nearly identical glasses.

Finished with the stickers, Arthur began to put them back on the shelves, trying to ignore the way the two men were constantly looking at him. He was beginning to think that it wasn't just coincidence that had him serving Alfred every day. Just as he went back to the counter to pick up the last of the bags, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see if there was a customer.

“Ah, hello Al-” He stopped, blinking at the man, now seen up close. His hair was a little longer than Alfred's and had a stubborn curl which bounced as he moved closer. “Oh. I'm sorry... Hello, may I help you.”

“Um, yes,” said the man, chancing a glance over his shoulder where Alfred was staring at a rack of ties. “I was just going to buy this.” He passed another Christmas jumper to Arthur, this one with a large face of a reindeer with big googly eyes and a large red felt nose. Arthur tried really hard not to grimace: he failed.

“I see.” Without further comment, he began to put the sale through, hoping he would never have to see Alfred in it. He thought he'd probably never be able to take Alfred seriously if he did.

“And, uh, my friend was just wondering-”

“Art!” shouted Gilbert, abruptly beside him. “Who's this? Woah! That's hilarious!” He pointed at the Christmas jumper Arthur had dropped.

“What the-?” Arthur began. He remembered the customer and stopped himself before he went any further. “What are you doing, Gil?” he asked, eyes narrowed. “You're supposed to be working.”

“I was. But then I thought I'd see if any hotties had come in while I was busy in back. And aren't I lucky?” Gilbert winked at the poor man who turned a shade of red so dark that Arthur was worried for his health.

Foregoing the neat folding, Arthur shoved the jumper into the bag. “Here you are, _sir_ ,” he said, pointedly. “Have a nice day.” _And get out of here while you still can!_

“Ah, er, yes, thanks,” said the man and rushed away.

“Aw, Art,” Gilbert began as they watched him hurry towards Alfred.

“Don't shout in my ear,” Arthur said, watching in fascination as Alfred turned to the man, glanced up at them, ducked his head and, after a brief conversation, left the shop. Arthur wondered if the embarrassment would put Alfred off coming in yet again and felt a strange mixture of relief and agitation.

* * *

There was no need to worry. Day after day, Alfred came in, always buying the jumpers from Arthur in particular. After a while, Arthur began to get annoyed. Where was he getting his money? He certainly didn't look like he had a well-paid job. In fact, he looked as though he was Arthur's age – how could afford all these jumpers, day after day?

So, one day, almost halfway to Christmas, Arthur confronted him.

“Don't you think you could get these cheaper somewhere else?” he asked, glancing around the shop to make sure no-one else overheard. “Buying these day after day must be expensive.”

Alfred blinked, looking as though being spoken to beyond the small talk and transaction was a shock to him. “Oh, um. People are donating money to 'the cause',” he said.

Which didn't help Arthur at all. He narrowed his eyes as he handed over the bag. “Are these the same people who are making you do this?”

“They're not exactly making me... I mean, I _did_ lose a bet.”

“What _was_ this bet, anyway?”

For a few seconds, Alfred's mouth opened and closed, apparently at a loss of what to say. “I, um. I, uh. Well... They bet me that I couldn't speak to a guy I liked.”

“Oh,” said Arthur. Not knowing quite how to respond, he decided to be sympathetic. “That's rather harsh. To put all that pressure on you, I mean. Have you managed to talk to him yet?”

“Y-Yeah...” said Alfred, so quietly that Arthur almost didn't hear him over the hum of the till. “I, er, just haven't been able to tell him that I've been trying to ask him on a date since I saw him in the quad, reading a Dresden Files book.”

Arthur blinked. “Huh. You like those books?”

Somehow, that made Alfred grin widely. “Yeah. But I like the guy more. And I just wish that I could get him to go on a date with me. But he'll probably think I'm stalking him – and I'm totally not! I just ran into him coincidentally and then... kept coming back...”

“You mean 'going', right?” said Arthur, not quite sure what he wanted the answer to be.

“No, 'coming'. A-Arthur, er, would you like to go on a... a, er, date? With me, I mean. I-If you want to.”

Glancing beyond Alfred, Arthur spotted Gilbert watching them, pretending to tidy by sliding shirts along the rails. When he caught sight of Arthur's look, he shrugged, grinned and put his thumb up. With that encouragement, Arthur himself shrugged and nodded. “Okay. Tonight? Only, I don't fancy being on a date with a guy wearing...” Arthur trailed off and held up the jumper with Dachshunds wearing scarves.

“R-Really?!” Alfred exclaimed, looking quite shocked. “I, er, tonight, yeah. I mean, I'm going to call Mat and tell him I've done it! That means I don't need to wear them any more.” Grinning, he spun from the counter, apparently intent on leaving to call his friend. Before he reached the door, however, he turned back and said, “Come back at close up?”

“Okay,” Arthur replied and, with a loud cheer, Alfred disappeared, leaving behind his jumper and a slightly shell-shocked Arthur. Whatever happened, Arthur decided, tonight would be interesting.


End file.
